Areej, a 39-year-old Saudi woman, has died after seven months of suffering and 20 operations that followed stomach surgery, and her family has accused her doctor of causing her death by committing a medical error. Dr. Sami Badawood, Director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, has issued directives to form an urgent committee to investigate accusations against the government hospital doctor. A source in Jeddah Health Affairs said the Shariah Commission will hold its first session soon to investigate the alleged medical error. The percentage of the error that occurred in the surgical operation will be determined, he said. Areej's brother said she underwent a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (removal of a vertical portion of the stomach). “The doctor conducted the first operation and it did not succeed, and it caused several complications forcing him to conduct several other operations to stop leakage from a perforation in the stomach,” he said. “As a result, the patient lost her stomach, spleen and the function of the esophagus. She entered into a coma and was fed through a medical tube.” The doctor carried out three other operations in a private hospital and others in a government hospital, Areej's brother said. They were not successful and his sister was in constant pain before she fell into a coma. Areej's family lodged an official complaint at the Ministry of Health, which referred it to the Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah to investigate the matter, he added. The accused doctor said he and top surgeons were unable to successfully treat the woman, despite their best efforts. “What happened to the female patient were post-surgery complications and we were forced to conduct a number of operations to treat her for the leakages,” he said. “Whenever the leakage in the stomach was plugged, it would occur once again. This forced us to remove the stomach and spleen. After that she entered into a coma. The operations she underwent were through laparoscopy in attempts to block the leakages. The patient underwent three operations by the best specialist doctors in laparoscopy in the Kingdom. They were all done at a private hospital at my expense.” He added that the patient's family consented to all the operations. Areej suffered from diabetes and hypertension. She weighed 80 kg and was about 30 kg overweight for her height of 1.48 meters, according to the doctor. __
